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Author Biography

Jack Maples

Portrait courtesy of Ken Spirduso, Lynchburg, Virginia

Jack was born in Buffalo, NY, but moved to Wellsville, NY, in the foothills of the Appalachians where he stayed until graduating from high school. While in high school, he played varsity football and wrestled as well as being a member of a local drum and bugle corps. Those experiences were much less than an educational event in finding a major avocation.

As a sophomore, during the centennial anniversary of the Civil War, a teacher who flatly stated that the United States never had a civil war challenged him. A “civil war,” the teacher said, is an attempt to overthrow the existing government. The South never sought that goal; rather, the Confederacy only desired to separate from the union.

This challenge led Jack to a 40-year journey of gaining a better understanding of the Southern War for Independence. His early studies focused on Gettysburg, including playing the Avalon Hill game and reading biographies of the generals leading forces on both sides of the battle.

With a passion for history and fiction, Jack continued reading and expanded the range of his interests to the full range of military engagements as well as antebellum culture, politics, economics, and the Reconstruction era. Leisure reading of the science fiction classics by Heinlein, Anderson, Pohl, Asimov, and Bradbury shaped his thinking about historical alternatives.

Following high school, Jack made an unsuccessful attempt to become a music education teacher. This led to his serving in the U.S. Navy on the Newport, RI-based USS Myles C. Fox (DD-829) during the Vietnam War. The ship had just returned from Vietnam. Given the rotation schedule, Jack was aboard for cruises to the Mediterranean, Africa, the Middle East, and South America. These visits shaped his understanding of culture, religion, and historical development.

Following his military service, Jack earned a B.A. in Political Theory at the University of Massachusetts, North Dartmouth, and an M.P.A. from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. Jack has two daughters and his current wife Debbie has two sons from her first marriage. Their fifth child, named for Stonewall Jackson, completed the family.

Jack has a 30-year career as a federal management consultant and currently is a process improvement engineer with a major defense contractor. He is a member of the Bull Run Civil War Roundtable, an Honorary Member of Frank Stringfellow Camp #822, Sons of Confederate Veterans, and a member of the Longstreet’s Staff Living History Organization. The portrait above illustrates his portrayal of a Confederate artillery colonel. He also portrays, Brigadier General Montgomery Dent Corse, who commanded a brigade in Pickett’s Virginia Gamecock Brigade that was in Richmond during the Gettysburg campaign.

Jack speaks and writes about 19th century social, political, and economic concerns as well as about the wartime period. To schedule an event call (703) 335-1838 or send an email to support@ConfederateStories.com.

	"Reconstructed Yankee" Review
		"Maples has done scrupulous research, and it shows in this well-written and powerful novel, which will appeal to Civil War buffs and historical fiction readers." — Kathleen Hughes American Library Association